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Cardiff.
History. Gone. Our most straight forward chance of winning a
trophy since 1987. Ending up the same way. In defeat.
But in defeat, like the coaches at the club are saying, there must be
positives to come out of it. not all will be on the pitch.
The day was weird, in
that we had to travel to Wales for the match and then when we got there
it was pouring with rain, which put a dampener on proceedings and put a
roof on the stadium. Not a final that you would want to remember,
although Spurs made enough chances to make it safe, but only if they had
stuck them away. On the day, Blackburn did it twice and we did it
once. And with that the passport to Europe was withdrawn.
The trek to Cardiff could become our only venture into Europe for a
while yet.
But there is still
the FA Cup, where we will have to overcome the side who we could not
beat for 12 years until the second leg of the Worthington Cup. Can
we beat them twice on the trot ? Well, having had the experience
of doing it once, the side should be up for it, especially as it might
mean burying some of the misery of 24.2.2002.
Unfortunately, our
League form has slipped away quite alarmingly. Only the failure of
teams around us to pick up points has kept up in 8th or 9th
position. We have beaten Blackburn and Leicester (which is always
nice and quite a change to beat a struggling side), but conversely, we
lost to Ipswich (again) and to Derby under their new manager. The
draw with Everton was a poor game and the home defeat to Newcastle
showed how vulnerable we are to pace.
Now that the
Worthington Cup is out of the way, perhaps we can concentrate on the
League (as they say). It is not beyond the realms of possibility
to qualify for Europe through the league, but it will require a near
championship winning run of form to do so and with Man U, Liverpool,
Leeds, Chelsea and Arsenal still to play, you would have to say it is
pretty unlikely that we will pull up far enough to get a place in the
top six.
That just leaves the
FA Cup and the campaign so far has seen us progress without conceding a
goal. There I've said it now, so it is bound to happen, but with
Chelsea to face and only Newcastle and Arsenal left among the other
teams to fear (although we have said that before), the final could be a
possibility if we get through this round. The problem then will be
convincing the side it is not as good as won. As Blackburn proved, even
the side who look as though they might as not turn up can turn the
tables by hard work and clinical finishing.
Whatever game we play
in, the side have to realise that they have to earn the ability to play
as they want. That means hard work and keeping things simple until
there is a chance to show that they are capable of. Too many games
in the last four to six weeks saw Spurs getting through without taking
the majority of the chances they created and without being on the top of
their form. While the likes of Tranmere and Bolton gave us
few troubles, sides who close us down and make it hard for the passing
game to flow can stifle Tottenham and then start to play their own
style.
The board need to
look at what has been achieved with limited resources and see if the
future for Spurs could be brighter with a little money thrown at
it. As with all these things, it is a balancing act, but the money
that they are raking in from the run to the Worthington Cup final and
the fact that season ticket holders who are having to pay for all these
home cup ties must be worth a bit. There are signs that the team
are gelling well and that they believe in what Hoddle is trying to do,
so the main thing is to bring in players who can add to what is there
already and take us on to the next step. Be that Phillips, Zamora,
Washington, whoever.
If we do sign
Phillips it will mean two things. One, that Sergei Rebrov has left
White Hart Lane, as there will be no place for him there with the
Sunderland man arriving and that the money would not be there unless he
moves on. Secondly, it means that there is a commitment to spend
big to achieve the progress the club seeks. If, come the summer, we
bring in Zamora or another lower league player(s), then the message will
be that the money is not there for players and we will then slip further
back in the Premiership pecking order.
You can add the likes
of Davies, Etherington and Doherty to a side that contains good players,
but the risk of putting too many younger kids in will possibly throw the
balance of the side out. The measured introduction of the players
is the way to do it and the fact that Matthew Etherington, after his
spell on loan in the First Division, has shown he can be an effective
substitute, proves that a steady progress may be better than to burst
onto the scene and then fade away never to be seen again.
Having been playing
two games a week through the last couple of months, the team will
benefit from some time between matches, but the importance to the rest
of this season and the next one too cannot be underestimated. To
move on, the side have to gain consistency and improve all the
time. To do this, there may be some changes, but the core is
there. Now the task of taking Tottenham forward lies with the
manager and the board.
Keep the faith.
MY EYES
HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
MY EYES HAVE SEEN THE GLORY OF THE CUPS AT WHITE HART LANE
AND THE SPURS GO MARCHING ON.
BRUCE
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